While the bike-loving Dutch practically live on their well-worn, beloved fietsen (bicycles) – many, infamously only with back-pedal coaster brakes – cycling for visitors is a wonderful means of exploring and getting around. With fabulously pancake-flat, scenic landscapes beckoning along every last dyke, canal, river and coastal shore, two-wheeling in the Netherlands is one of Dutch life's greatest pleasures (headwinds notwithstanding). Trailblazing contemporary architecture – green and innovative – is a perfect reflection of a country perfectly in tune with its environment (and the need to protect it).

The Dutch influence on construction spans more than a millennia, from Romanesque and Gothic medieval magnum opuses to Dutch Renaissance palaces and romantic Golden Age gabled houses. World-renowned art museums in Amsterdam, Den Haag, Rotterdam, Haarlem and Leiden drip with iconic masterpieces, alongside a respectable portfolio of contemporary works.

In a country that gave birth to celebrated Dutch Masters like Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh and Piet Mondrian, the art legacy is huge. Tradition and innovation intertwine here: artistic masterpieces, centuries-old windmills, tulip fields and romantic candlelit cafés coexist with visionary architecture, cutting-edge design and phenomenal nightlife.

Hampm holland